Hong Kong Trip 2017 - Day 5

Day 5 was the day we returned to sunny and humid Singapore to resume our normal lives again.  After we had some light breakfast which consisted of cookies and tea, we just walked around the hotel to explore.

The lovable Mickey & Minnie mouse - LG G5

Hong Kong Trip 2017 - Day 4

On day 4 of our trip, we started with a buffet breakfast at the Disneyland Hotel's Enchanted Garden.  It was a character breakfast where various Disney characters will walk around and take photos with us.

The buffet spread was amazing; lots of variety and cutely decorated Disney character food.  Need I say more?

Just look at all that food!  Too many choices! - X-T2 + XF16mm F1.4R

Hong Kong Trip 2017 - Day 2

Day 2 started at 9 in the morning.  We planned to visit Citygate Outlets (https://www.citygateoutlets.com.hk/)  at Tung Chung which is approximately 45 minutes away from Tsim Sha Tsui.  However prior to that we made a quick visit to Jenny's Bakery to buy all the cookies my wife wanted so that we could settle the packing later on that night.

Jenny's Bakery Tsim Sha Tsui - LG G5

Hong Kong Trip 2017 - Day 1

During the March school term break we took a 5 day trip to Hong Kong.  It was the first time the kids went to some place other than Indonesia.  The weather was very nice too, at a cooling 17-21 degrees Celsius.

It was very exciting from the very beginning, we couldn't wait for the plane to take off once we were on board.

Waiting for other passengers to board - LG G5

The First 3 Weeks of 2017

By now, Lincoln had finished 3 weeks of Primary 1.  It has been a trying period for him, I & my wife.  There's no change in the time he has to wake up every morning, but his new routine (which is not well controlled) is causing quite a bit of problem.  Fortunately Lindsay has been adapting well in her new child care, Mandarin and reading class, I just regret that I have been neglecting her studies as I'm too preoccupied with Lincoln.

Lincoln's problems:

1. he doesn't want to take naps after school and since both I and my wife are working, nobody can force him to - this means that by the time I get home and guide him to do his homework he'll be too sleepy to pay attention.  I end up having to blow my top every weeknights just to guide him with schoolwork.

2. he doesn't jot down his homework details so I don't know whether he's doing enough or less or more... But after the 1st parent teacher meeting yesterday, I can safely say he's not doing enough..

3. his Mandarin is..... hopeless I guess.... he just can't remember the letters and he can't get his 笔画right. With weekly 听写on every Tuesday, that's also giving me a lot of pressure..

4. Due to 1 to 3 above, Lincoln has been showing his rebellious side more prominently as of late, partly because I limit his TV time to weekends only now.  No tablets and phones either.

The teachers will list down the homework there, but Lincoln just won't write them down in his communication book - took that photo during parent teacher meeting yesterday

Tex-Mex Fridate

[UPDATE: Coyote Tex-Mex has since been closed]

Last Friday I & my wife had a Tex-Mex themed Fridate.  We visited this place called Coyote Tex-Mex (http://www.coyote.com.sg/).  It's a nice, quiet and romantic place in Phoenix Park, Tanglin.  The place was just recently re-opened under the same management; the establishment was formerly called Spruce (http://www.spruce.com.sg/) and they used to serve American & Italian food.  That's the most likely reason why you can still find a small selection of Italian dishes in Coyote's menu.  The original Spruce still operates in Bukit Timah now.

For us, it was certainly a nice welcome change from our usual Italian, Japanese or Western fridates which has become somewhat predictable, if not, routine.

Coyote does not disappoint.  The ambiance is very nice, food is good, friendly staffs, child friendly environment too - although you might want to bring a mosquito repellent for them in case you want to let them play in the bouncy play ground downstairs - not that I'm saying they have mosquitoes there but it's always better to be safe than sorry.

Wifey wanted terrace seat as it was very cold inside, it was raining whole day so outdoor seating was pleasantly breezy

My Brain Close Shop on Weekends

Lately I mean.... Seriously, for the past 3 months or so, weekends have been spent ferrying kids to the tuitions and activity classes that I seldom get quality rest and self-time on weekends....  It does not help that I feel work has been unrewarding too as of late; I have reached this state of "hidup segan mati pun tak mau" - it keeps things running but no more than that.

Saturday morning starts with taking Lincoln to his reading class, after that we go for lunch and he continues with his Mandarin class while I do the weekly grocery shopping.  Previously I would shop with my wife but she has since been taking Muay Thai classes on every Saturday afternoon so I shop alone now.  After that I'll pick up Lincoln and we head back home and it's time for me to exercise and finally help Lincoln with his homework or just play around with the kids.

Sunday starts even earlier than Saturday with Lindsay's ballet class, followed by brunch, an hour or two of family time and then karate class for Lincoln and myself.  Karate class is the only thing I look forward to on weekends (other than spending time with the kids), it's the time when I can have some sort of meditation (funny yeah... karate for meditation..).  After class I still have to do more homework catch-up with Lincoln in case we didn't finish it on the night before.

I really enjoy the karate class, especially when practicing and doing Kata (型).  The swishing and flapping sounds my Gi makes is familiarly soothing.  In a way, I'm putting back the puzzle pieces together after 22 years of not practicing karate.  I can see that "黒帯" (black belt) within reach even as I'm starting at white again now.

Sometimes I feel like my weekend is just as jam-packed as my weekdays and I'm on auto-pilot almost everyday, which I don't really enjoy....  That's why on weekends it feels like my brain "close-shop" too.

Here's a closing shot for this "brainless" rambling:

"Closed" sign at Lincoln's Reading Class - that bokeh is real not fake like the one in iPhone 7 ;p

  ~ Photo taken with LG G5 ~

Another Special Fridate

There was a period when I wanted some interesting Fridates with my wife so we went around trying new spots.  Another hip place we tried was the famous 2AM Dessert Bar in Holland Village.

We arrived quite early in 2AM as we didn't make any reservations and it was a Friday after all.  But we can't have dinner made up of desserts only so we ordered some savories to go along.  

Chicken Taco; there was another Mac and Cheese but it looked like any other so I didn't take the photo

Linc's MMA Trial

Last Saturday we took Lincoln to Evolve MMA for a trial class.  I & my wife thought that it would build his self confidence and release some of those excess energy so that he can focus better when he studies too.

He attended a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) and a Muay Thai class back-to-back.

Linc in his BJJ getup

LG G5 - Finally

Okay, so my handphone change could not wait any longer.  My old G3 just stopped detecting my memory card altogether and some of my apps that are in the memory card became inaccessible.  While I could transfer the app to internal storage, it also means that I would run out of space in the phone.  Taking photos also mean that they will be stored in the internal storage.

So I checked my telco provider's website for the contract rate.  I was really lucky that the G5 had a $200 off promotion.  I had also passed the minimum re-contract period which means that they will waive the $200 (yes $200, not $100 which I previously thought!!) admin fee if I re-contract now.  My G3 itself is still worth $150 if I trade it in.  So not wanting to delay any longer (while the promotion is still on) I decided to just go for a G5.  All-in-all I got it at a price of $229, which is not bad for a flagship.  I had considered the Samsung S7 but the price difference was a good $320.  So I thought the G5 is a better buy, where dollars and cents are concerned.

The G5 is really a sleek phone.  While it has a metal feel, it's not so heavy as compared to let's say the Sony Z5 Premium.  The G5 feels more comfortable in hand.  It's thinner than my G3 because the back is flat and not curved.  But what I really like is the fact that it is light despite some of the metal parts in the body.  The loudspeaker placement is also better this time, which is at the bottom of the phone instead of the back which makes the ringtone and any other notifications more audible when placed inside the pocket.

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